Census 2021 Data

This section of the data pack explores new measures introduced in the 2021 Census relating to deprivation.

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)

Although commonly used; the IMD is now out of date. The last refresh of the IMD was in 2019 based on data from 2011 aligned to the old administrative wards. The latest Census was carried out in 2021 and aligns to the existing Lambeth administrative wards which went live in May 2022.

Census Deprivation

The dimensions of deprivation used to classify households are indicators based on four selected household characteristics.

Education

A household is classified as deprived in the education dimension if no one has at least level 2 education and no one aged 16 to 18 years is a full-time student.

Employment

A household is classified as deprived in the employment dimension if any member, not a full-time student, is either unemployed or economically inactive due to long-term sickness or disability.

Health

A household is classified as deprived in the health dimension if any person in the household has general health that is bad or very bad or is identified as disabled.

People who have assessed their day-to-day activities as limited by long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses are considered disabled. This definition of a disabled person meets the harmonised standard for measuring disability and is in line with the Equality Act (2010).

Housing

A household is classified as deprived in the housing dimension if the household’s accommodation is either overcrowded, in a shared dwelling, or has no central heating.

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• Cost of living - Resident survey
• Poverty rate
• Children in low-income households
• Pension credit
• Census measures of deprivation

Introduction

We want Lambeth residents to thrive financially, no matter what life throws their way. Cost of living means having better chances at overall well-being: economic, physical, and emotional.

The data presented here sets out how our residents view their Cost of living (their ability to withstand financial shocks), poverty rates across the borough and specifically how these impact children and older people.

This information should be considered alongside information presented elsewhere in the report including employment and worklessness, homelessness (if included) and life expectancy.

A good understanding of poverty in our borough, the Cost of living of residents and levels of deprivation enables us to understand better how to tackle the inequalities that walk hand-in-hand with deprivation.

The data shows that:

• Almost half of respondents reported that their financial circumstances got worse in the past year.
• About 27% of Lambeth residents think it will be at least fairly difficult to pay for food in the coming year, almost half expect it will be at least fairly difficult to pay for energy, and just under 40% expect it will be at least fairly difficult to pay for their rent/mortgage.
• The after housing costs relative poverty rate is similar in Lambeth to London (26 vs 27%).
• Children are more likely to live in poverty in Lambeth than in London, with a similar proportion to England.
• The percentage of over 64s on pension credit is much higher in Lambeth (26.4%) than in London (17.7%) or England (11.1%).
• Lambeth is among the top half of boroughs that have the highest percentage of households that are deprived in three or four of the dimensions described in the Census 2021.

Commentary

Cost of living - Resident survey

These four graphs show the responses of Lambeth residents to cost of Cost of living-related questions (conducted in autumn 2022). Almost half of respondents reported that their financial circumstances got worse in the past year. About 27% of Lambeth residents think it will be at least fairly difficult to pay for food in the coming year, almost half expect it will be at least fairly difficult to pay for energy, and just under 40% expect it will be at least fairly difficult to pay for their rent/mortgage.

Data source: Borough-wide responses to Cost of living questions from the latest annual Resident survey . Latest data from 2022 . Underlying data sourced from London Borough of Lambeth here.

Commentary

Poverty rate

This graph shows average poverty rates by borough and for London as a whole, defined as 60% of median household income after housing costs, AHC. This indicator uses a 5 year pooled sample to 2020. Poverty rates in Lambeth and London were very similar in this time period (27 vs 26%), which was significantly higher than for England (22%).

Data source: Poverty rates by borough, defined as 60% of median household income after housing costs, AHC. This indicator uses a 5 year pooled sample to the stated time period. . Latest data from 2020 . Underlying data sourced from Trust for London, and Commons Library, based on ONS data here.

Commentary

Children in low-income households

This graph shows the percentage of children (aged 0-15) living in relative low-income households by borough and for London as a whole. Relative low income is defined as 60% of median household income after housing costs, AHC. In the latest data, Lambeth’s prevalence is most recently at 18%, which is slightly lower than England (19%) and slightly higher than London (17%). There is a slight upwards trend for all three regions, and Lambeth and England have been higher than London.

Data source: The percentage of children living in relative low income households, defined as 60% of median household income after housing costs, AHC. . Latest data from 2021 . Underlying data sourced from DWP here.

Commentary

Pension credit

This graph shows the percentage of people aged 65+ who were received pension credit in August 2022. This is used to indicate people of pension age who in poverty. A significantly higher percentage of over 64s in Lambeth (26.5%) received pension credit compared with London and England (17.5% and 11%). Percentages of over 64s who receive pension credit has been decreasing steadily for all areas since 2017. In this year, ~30% of Lambeth pensioners were receiving pension credit.

Data source: The percentage of people aged 65+ who are on pension credit . Latest data from 2022 . Underlying data sourced from DWP here.

Commentary

Unemployment benefit claimants

The first graph shows the mid-year (June) claimant count rate in the three areas for all claimants. This included people who claim universal credit who are looking for a job, and those on Job Seekers Allowance. This shows that Lambeth consistently has a claimant count rate of about 1% higher than London and 2% higher than England, ranging from ~3% in 2018, to a high of just over 8% in 2020, and more recently down to 5.3% in June 2022. The second set of graphs shows the change in claimant count by area and by age group. Lambeth has a greater percentage of claimants among all age groups. For ages 16-24 and 25-49 the difference with London and England is relatively small compared to those 50+ (within 1-1.5% each year). In this age group, the claimant count rate is consistently more than 2% higher than than in London and England.

Data source: Claimant count rate (including Universal Credit and Job Seeker's Allowance) . Latest data from 2022 . Underlying data sourced from ONS here.

Commentary

Unemployment by sex and ethnicity

These graphs show the unemployment rate by ethnic group and sex in 2022 in Lambeth, London, and England. Lambeth has the lowest unemployment rate overall (~3.5%), but has the largest disparity in terms of unemployment for ethnic minority groups (about 4% higher unemployment rate than for all working age people) and women (a 1% higher unemployment rate than for all working age people) than for London and England (between ~1.5 and ~3% for ethnic minorities, around 0% for women).

Data source: Unemployment rate by sex and ethnicity . Latest data from 2022 . Underlying data sourced from ONS here.

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• Population
• Household composition
• Country of birth
• Passports held
• Main language
• English proficiency
• Ethnicity
• Religion
• Sexual orientation
• Gender identity

Introduction

Lambeth has a goal by 2030 to make the borough a place we can all call home. This will be a borough with the best conditions to grow up and age well, where everyone can contribute to an inclusive economy, and have a place to call home. ‘Everyone’ in Lambeth terms means an exceptionally diverse population, in terms of background, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Key aspects of the demographics in Lambeth include:

• Lambeth has more people aged 20-24 and 25-34 (17.1%) than London (12.4%) and England (9.8%), and a lower proportion of older people.

• Lambeth has a lower proportion of single-family households (50%) than London (58%) or England (63%), but a higher proportion of single parent and families where the parents are not married or in a civil partnership.

• Lambeth has a significantly higher proportion of people from Black, Black British, Black Welsh, or Caribbean, and African backgrounds (24%) than London (13.5%) or England (4.3%).

• Lambeth has a slightly higher proportion of people from mixed/multiple ethnic groups (8.1% vs 5.7% for London), and significantly lower percentage of people from an Asian, Asian British, or Asian Welsh backgrounds (7.3%) than London as a whole (20.7%).

• A similar percentage of Lambeth residents were born outside of the UK as London, both much higher than England (~40% vs 17% for England). Lambeth has a significantly higher proportion of people born in the Americas and the Caribbean or Africa (17.5%) than London or England (11.3% and 4.3%), and a similar percentage of EU residents to London (13.1%). Lambeth residents are more likely to hold a passport from another country.

• Lambeth residents are more likely to speak English as their main language than London (82 vs 78% of residents). There are also significant proportions of people who speak Spanish (4%), Portuguese (2.9%), and an African language (1.7%) as their main language, more proportionally than London or England.

• A slightly higher proportion of Lambeth residents say they cannot speak English well or at all than England as a whole, a similar percentage as London.

• The largest religious group in Lambeth is Christian (43.7%), greater proportionally than in London (40.7%). Lambeth has more people reporting that they have no religion (37.5%) than London and England (27.1% and 36.7% respectively). Lambeth has a lower Muslim and Hindu population than London.

• Lambeth has a higher percentage of people who identify as Gay/Lesbian, Bisexual, or another sexual orientation (8.3%) than London (4.2%) or England (3.1%).

• Lambeth has a higher percentage of people who have a gender identity that is different from their sex registered at birth but did not give a specific identity, or identified as trans man or trans woman than England (0.8% vs 0.4%), a similar percentage to London (0.9%).

Much of the data reported in this section comes from the latest UK Census (2021). A comparison between Lambeth demographics between the 2011 and 2021 Census can be found here.

Commentary

Household composition

This graph shows the composition of households in Lambeth, London, and England from the 2021 Census. Lambeth has overall less single-family households (50%) than London (58%) and England (63%). However it does have slightly more single parent and families where the parents are not married or in a civil partnership. Lambeth has significantly more ‘Other’ households where residents may be students or multiple people aged 66 or older (~15%), compared to London (8%) and England (4%).

Data source: Household composition from the 2021 Census . Latest data from 2021 . Underlying data sourced from ONS here.

Commentary

Country of birth

This graph shows the country of birth of residents of Lambeth, London, and England from the 2021 Census. Lambeth has a similar percentage of residents born in the UK as London (61%), but much less than England (83%). Lambeth has a significant population of people born in The Americas and the Caribbean (9%) and Africa (8.5%). Lambeth also has a large population of people born in the EU (13%), similar to the rest of London.

Data source: Country of birth from the 2021 Census . Latest data from 2021 . Underlying data sourced from ONS here.

Commentary

Passports held

This graph shows the passports held by residents of Lambeth, London and England from the 2021 Census. In total, more people in Lambeth have a passport than in London or England, but less have a United Kingdom passport than England (72% vs 77%). Like the rest of London, Lambeth residents hold a diverse range of passports from many countries. Particular differences include more Portugueuse and Spanish passports in Lambeth, and less Romanian and South Asian passports than other areas.

Data source: Passports held from the 2021 Census . Latest data from 2021 . Underlying data sourced from ONS here.

Commentary

Main language

This graph shows the main language spoken by residents of Lambeth, London and England from the 2021 Census. A similar proportion of Lambeth residents have English as their main language (82%) as London, but less than England (91%). Significantly more people in Lambeth has Spanish (4%), Portuguese (3%), and an African language (2%) than London or England (~1% or less for all). Much less people in Lambeth (1%) speak a South Asian language as their main language than in London (6%) or England (2.5%).

Data source: Main language from the 2021 Census (table TS024) . Latest data from 2021 . Underlying data sourced from ONS here.

Commentary

English proficiency

This graph shows the level of English proficiency of Lambeth residents. As in London or England, the vast majority of residents either have English as a first language, or can speak English well. Slightly more Lambeth and London residents say they cannot speak English well (3% and 4%), or cannot speak English (1% for both), compared to England as a whole (2% and < 0.5%).

Data source: Proficiency in English from the 2021 Census (table TS029) . Latest data from 2021 . Underlying data sourced from ONS here.

Commentary

Ethnicity

This graph provides information about the population of different ethnic groups in Lambeth, London, and England from the 2021 Census. Lambeth has a significant population of people from a Black, Black British, Black Welsh, or Caribbean (12%) / African (12%) background compared to London (6% and 8% respectively), and England (2% and 3% respectively). Lambeth also has a slightly higher proportion of people from mixed/multiple ethnic groups, and significantly lower people from an Asian, Asian British, or Asian Welsh background than London as a whole (7% vs 21%).

Data source: Ethnic group from the 2021 Census (table TS022) . Latest data from 2021 . Underlying data sourced from ONS here.

Commentary

Religion

The table provides information about the population of different religious groups in Lambeth, London, and England from the 2021 Census. In Lambeth, the largest religious group is Christian, making up 44% of the population, which is slightly higher than London (41%) and lower than England (46). The second largest group is those with no religion, at 37.5%, much greater than London 27% but similar to England. Lambeth has a much lower Muslim (8% vs 15%) and Hindu (1% vs 5%) population than London.

Data source: Religion from the 2021 Census (table TS031) . Latest data from 2021 . Underlying data sourced from ONS here.

Commentary

Sexual orientation

This graph shows the sexual orientation of Census respondents in Lambeth, London, and England. The data shows that significantly more Lambeth residents say they are Gay/Lesbian (5%), Bisexual (2%), or another sexual orientation (not heterosexual 1%) than in London (2%, 1.5%, and 0.5% respectively) and England (1.5%, 1%, and <0.5% respectively).

Data source: Sexual orientation from the 2021 Census (table TS077) . Latest data from 2021 . Underlying data sourced from ONS here.

Commentary

Gender identity

This graph shows the gender identity of Census respondents in Lambeth, London, and England. In general, the percentage of people who responded with a gender identity different from their sex registered at birth is small for each category, so it is different to see significant differences between the areas. Lambeth has a higher percentage of people who have a gender identity that is different from their sex registered at birth but did not give a specific identity than England at 0.4% vs 0.2%, similar to London at 0.5%. The percentage of people who identify as trans man and trans woman is relatively similar across all areas, with Lambeth and London (0.2%) having slightly higher percentages than England at 0.1% for both.

Data source: Gender identity from the 2021 Census (table TS078) . Latest data from 2021 . Underlying data sourced from ONS here.